


Starbound - A Rolepayed Adventure!

by KBraid



Category: Starbound - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 02:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7666210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KBraid/pseuds/KBraid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I've always wanted to play a tabletop RPG, but with no one to play with I came up with the idea of role-playing my own work of fiction!<br/>Every dice roll is real and there are no re-rolls. Chance is what's telling this story!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is purely introductions.  
> No role-playing yet, that's on the next chapter!

Kretari Station - Marinius Myriad II

 

In this backwater mining colony located in an asteroid field orbiting a very lonely Blue Dwarf star, our journey begins.

 

Lucas, a 21 year old Human - currently drunk, wandered down the neon lit streets kicking rocks of eroded pavement. His life up until this point was promising: he got good grades in school, trained for space exploration in college, and joined the USCM with a promising record. However that all fell apart when he was assigned to this station as a dock security guard.

As the eventless weeks went on and boredom ensued, Lucas took to partying and clubbing to relieve his stress, sometimes even during work hours.

Before even getting his first paycheck Lucas was fired. And without the money to buy a ship and go home, or go _anywhere_ , he’s been stuck on this rock since.

 

Today has been almost the same as every day before: Lucas left his tiny apartment and made his way over to the scrap yards where he _borrowed_ valuable looking junk and materials to sell to the recyclers for far less than if they dealt with the scrappers personally, making just enough to hit the nightclub and get wasted.

The main difference from this routine is that he was caught making his escape from the scrap yard and his secret entrance has likely been sealed. The amount he made off the scraps was barely enough for a few drinks.

He also got kicked out of the club for rowdy behavior, he’s surprisingly a lot more docile when hammered than when buzzed.

 

As Lucas bumbled down the street, he took notice of a unique craft fly over to the docks. A hunk-of-junk pod of a ship. Lucas’ expression shifted from gloom to glee as hope crossed his mind. If the owner was planning to sell that scrapmetal, he might just have enough saved up to take it and finally get out of this dump!

As Lucas attempted to move forward he bumped into something, “Oh! Excuse me!” he heard a squeaky voice. Before him was what looked like a little robot, upon further inspection it was actually an exo suit with a very fluffy creature inside. It ran off down an alleyway.

Getting his mind back on track he took off towards the dock.

* * *

 

The pod ship landed in bay 2, a hatch between the engines opened and a tall figure stepped out. Asrie, an 18 year old Pegalci Peacekeeper - currently hunting a bounty.

The spaceport was a rusted poorly maintained mess of a facility, the air tasted of frayed copper wires and smelled like burning oil.

As he approached customs the bored-out-of-their-minds guards took immediate interest in the rare individual, making sure to greet him thoroughly.

And by _greet_ , I mean unnecessarily force him through the entirety of the USCM security screening process.

 

After 20 minutes of searches and questions he was finally let through. He made his way out of the docks, the first thing he noticed was a red-haired nervous looking human who then darted away almost in a panic. The individual had an agenda they chose to abandon upon sighting him.

Asrie made his way through the colony attempting to track down the criminal he was after. It didn’t take him long to find the ‘bad end of town’ where his search likely became timed, if the criminal became aware of his presence they would likely get away.

Everything appeared to have large amounts of wear and tear, even the natural rock looked like it was in bad shape. Everyone who walked the streets looked shady, none of them paid any direct mind to the peacekeeper. Asrie pulled his hood up and flipped the safety off on his pistol.

 

He entered a shifty looking bar and scanned the crowd as he ordered a meal, everyone looked like they were itching for a fight, some of them even were!

The bar smelled of sewage, Asrie was certain the stench was coming off of the patrons. Half the lights were broken, and his chair creaked heavily as though it was on the verge of breaking. The food tasted decent enough, if not for the heavy amount of grease.

Looking down the isle to the very back of the room, he spotted the target. A human male; gray balding hair, burned face, and an eye patch over his left eye.

Making sure he’d gone unnoticed, Asrie slowly drew his pistol and fired. But he failed to notice that one of the fights had spilled into the isle, directly in his line of fire!

Everyone’s attention turned to Asrie as one of the patrons dropped dead. Seeing guns being drawn, including a few behind the bar, Asrie dashed for the door gunshots blazing behind him.

 

On his way back to the dock, Asrie took notice that that thugs that were on his tail had been replaced with guards. His already quick pace quickened as he attempted to flee the colony.

Completely wrapped up in his failure, Asrie realized he couldn’t fly his ship with his mind in such a state of self resentment. Bursting through the security gate he noticed a familiar human attempting to pry his ship’s door open. A solution to his problem crossed his mind.

“Are you trying to steal my ship!?” Asrie shouted at the red haired man, “What? N-No!” Lucas lied unconvincingly, “Good! Get in!” Asrie ordered as the door opened.

Stunned by what was occurring Lucas was grabbed by Asrie and flung into the ship as bullets began to pellet its hull.

 

“Do you know how to pilot a spaceship?” Asrie asked the scared human, “U-uh, Yes? -I mean, yes I do! I’ve wanted to all my life!” “Good enough…” Asrie hoisted Lucas off the floor and flung him up to the pilot’s seat. “Wait, where’s the controls?” “It’s a neural interface, just sit down and the rest will be taken care of for you.”

Lucas sat down, a strange feeling filled his skull. His mind went numb as the interface linked with his system, turning on his pain inhibitors and flooding his brain with information. He was completely unaware of his own violent spasming.

Asrie quickly noticed that Lucas had hazed over, “S.A.I.L. Disable the neural interface pain inhibitors!” A sudden jolt rushed through Lucas’ body as his senses returned to full strength, along with an incredible migraine far stronger than any hangover he’d ever endured.

“Okay, now what?” Lucas’ question was already answered as the ship began to move. As they left the dock they were immediately bombarded by the defence batteries. Luckily they managed to escape with little _known_ damage.

 

Lucas got up out of the chair, and immediately fell back into it as head felt like it was about to explode. He noticed his shirt covered in blood that was dripping profusely from his nose.

“You might want to take it easy, you’re not supposed to take the pain inhibitors off on a first-time boot up.”

As Lucas’ mind began to clear, he realized he doesn’t even know the individual he’s with, “Hey, we didn’t get to properly introduce ourselves. I’m Lucas, what’s your name?” “I’m Asrie” he replied.

The awkward silence that had developed was broken by a noise coming from one of the bulkheads. Leaning closer to the wall Asrie noticed a panel vibrate as something pushed against it.

Drawing his pistol, he knocked the panel loose, Lucas recognizing what fell out as the robot he ran into earlier, a little Avali girl. “Hello!” she spoke, “I’m Eili!”

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

Somewhere in the Marinius Myriad system.

 

“Main engine 2 failing!”

“S.A.I.L. Status report!”

[DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS - OFFLINE]

“Great… Lucas! Can you land us on that planet?”

“What!? That planet has no tech readings! If we crash we’ll be stuck there forever!”

“It’s better than dying out in space!”

“I don’t wanna die!...” Eili was more complaining with tears than outright panicking like the other two.

“Alright, but I don’t think this ball of scrap will hold together!”

 

They began to drift down towards Marinius Myriad I, the only planet in the system. While Lucas and Asrie braced for entry, both nervous wrecks, Eili looked out the window at the planet’s pink moon. “Ooh! Pretty!” she complimented seeming to have completely forgotten about their dire situation. Whether faked or not, the heat buildup on the hull forced her out of it.

The ship rattled intensely as it met air resistance. [HULL INTEGRITY AT CRITICAL STRESS LEVELS - RECOMMENDING A SLOWER VELOCITY DURING ATMOSPHERIC TRAVERSAL] “I hate S.A.I.L. Why does every ship have one!?” Lucas complained.

“Get ready for impact… Hold on to something!” The pod ship crashed into the side of a hill, luckily along the downward slope. It gouged a trench down the side of the terrain coming to a stop at the bottom.

 

The door opened. Lucas collapsed out, gasping for breath dramatically. Asrie shuffed his way out holding his head. Eili walked out as if nothing happened…

Lucas looked around at the landscape before them. The grass was an emerald green, and the tree leaves were white and fluffy like flower petals. The forest was thick, but the hills and mountains were completely bare of of any substantial foliage. The clouds had a slight pink hue to them.

Asrie examined the ship. It was clear it was never going to fly again… One of the engine nozzles fell off and spooked Eili. Asrie sighed, “Alright, scavenge everything of value. We may or might not have to come back here so the essentials are most important.”

Asrie put on his alloy-fiber cloak and grabbed the few medkits and bandages that were intact along with an emergency flashlight augment that he then attached to his wrist. “Wow, you don’t eat much do you? There’s not much food here.” Asrie turned to face Lucas, “What? I’ve stored enough rations to last two weeks, how is that not much?” Lucas pulled his head out of the locker, “How is this that much?” He held out three cans of rations.

Asrie stood perplexed as to where all his food went, the sound of a can opening outside answered his question. Eili began to stuff her face with its contents, beside her a bag filled with the missing rations. Asrie sighed in relief and annoyance. “Eili, those are for all of us.” Asrie approached reaching for the bag. Eili growled “Did you just, growl at me!?” She returned to her meal.

 

While they were tearing apart the ship for valuable materials, Eili noticed someone approaching. “Hello? Um… Excuse me!” the individual spoke, everyone’s attention turned. An Avian girl, looking in her late teens, shuffled up to them cautiously. “Are you, by chance… spacefarers?” After a brief pause the group turned to look at their ship, for an extended period. “Myeah I guess you could say that.” Lucas spoke up.

“So, would that also mean you are warriors?” The three looked amongst themselves, “My title as Peacekeeper I would say classifies me as such” Asrie answered. “Well, warrior is a bit of a stretch, but I can hold my own in a fight!” Lucas began to shadow box. “If it means I get to shoot things, than whatever it is count me in!” Eili struck a pose, wielding two Avali pistols. Asrie and Lucas looked at her puzzled, she definitely did not have those a moment ago.

“Oh good! You have weapons! That’ll save me the the trouble of supplying them for you.” The Avian looked really eager to get underway with whatever it was she had planned. “Aw I don’t got a weapon…” Lucas mumbled. “Before we continue this discussion any further, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.” Asrie stated. “Oh! Right! Where are my manors? I’m Kihtu!”

Asrie continued, “And what is the task of which we are going to potentially risk our lives for?” In the background Eili was helping to forge a crude sword for Lucas from a piece of ship hull. “My friend has been imprisoned, and is going to be executed- eh, _sacrificed_!”

_So they were going to be dealing with Kluex cultists,_ Asrie thought to himself, _Any god malevolent enough to demand sacrifice, whether the command be by the god or the priests, deserves no worship._ “So what you’re saying is you want us to break your friend out of an Avian temple? Why have they been imprisoned in the first place?”

“Well, his mere presence on this planet is an afront to the temple. I guess that means yours is as well, especially that one’s.” She points at Eili. Asrie crossed his arms, “So after we have rescued your compatriot, what happens next?” “Well you’re spacefarers, we get off of this planet!” Once again after a brief pause the group looks upon their ship for an extended period before turning back to face the Avian. “Oh don’t worry about that, my friend can solve that problem!”

 

As the group walked deep into the forest, Lucas took the time to observe their surroundings. The bark on the many trees was a deep gray and heavily gnarled. Alone it would have made the forest very eire if not terrifying, but instead it surprisingly added to the beauty of the forest. Much of the shrubbery was blooming with vibrant red flowers. _I think I’m gonna name this planet New Japan._ Lucas thought to himself.

Asrie was using his senses more wisely, keeping his eyes and ears out for any signs of hostile activity bearing down on them. So far there’s been nothing but the sound of wind through the leaves and a conversation at the front of the group.

Eili was following closely behind Kihtu. She had never met an Avian before and was bombarding the bird person with a lot of questions like, “Why is your beak so small?” “Why is your head so round?” “Is that hair or feathers?” “Why do you have no wings or tail?” “Is red your natural colour?” “Why is your chest so poofy?”

 

After a while of hiking, Khitu brought the group to a halt. “We’re nearing the temple now, best to prepare for combat. I’ll be heading out in front of you, please don’t follow.” That request had Asrie raise an eyebrow. The avian took off disappearing in the foliage. The group readied their weapons.

After moving a short distance forward the temple came into view, a large, impressive structure made of giant blocks of stone that glistened like gold. The path to the temple was a downward slope with no cover. In front of the entrance stood two guards, both armed with rifles and spears. “We need a plan of attack. Eili, Use your speed and small profile to rush them, take them by surprise. We will back you up.” “Okie Doke!” Before Asrie could finish strategizing, Eili took off. “Eili not yet!” It was too late, she burst into the clearing. Clenching his hood in frustration, Asrie charged after her with Lucas close behind.

“Intruder!” One of the guards shouted, they took aim at Eili and opened fire.

(d20-5 6) Most of the shots missed, the rest glanced off her exoframe.

(d20 3) Eili realized she forgot to turn the safety off her pistols, she came to a complete stop as she fixed that.

Asrie came to a sliding halt and took aim, (d20 17) he managed to hit one in their off hand and the other in the side of their helmet. The second guard fell over dazed. Lucas came charging in from behind,

(d12 11) despite never wielding a sword before he managed to get around the guards defenses and land a solid blow. However in a counterattack he was struck in the face by the opponent’s buttstock.

Eili took aim at the guard on the ground attempting to get up. (d20 13) She peppered it with bullets, it stopped moving.

The remaining guard swung its spear at Lucas, (d20 10) they managed to strike him in the leg. Lucas brought his sword up attempting to gain a defensive position.

Asrie took a few more shots (d20 7) The guard jumped out of the way.

(d20 5) Eili was too busy celebrating her successful take-down to rejoin the fight.

Lucas took a swing at the guard, (d12-2 4) his lack of skill was apparent as none of his strikes landed.

Asrie fired his pistol again (d20 15) striking the guard square in the chest. They stumbled a bit before collapsing on the ground.

While Eili scavenged the bodies for loot Asrie approached Lucas and offered to bandage his leg, “This isn’t my area of expertise but, I hope this’ll do.”

 

The three made their way into the temple, the interior was completely devoid of light. Asrie switched his emergency flashlight on, “They know we’re here. They rid all the light to put us at a disadvantage, we can’t see them but they can see us. Clever.” They descended deeper into the golden-stone structure.

After entering the first hall, it became apparent they were not alone. Suddenly, two Avian guards jumped out from behind a large bird statue in the middle of the hall, two more revealed themselves from behind stone flower ornaments on either side.

One of the guards charged the group, (d20 7) his stance uncaring and exposed.

(d20+2 7) Asrie opened fire, landing a few hits.

(d12+2 6) Lucas charged as well, the two parried each other’s blows, neither landing a hit.

(d20+2 12) Eili let loose her pistols, scoring multiple solid shots.

Lucas brought his sword up and slammed it down on the Avian’s helmet, it fell limp. Returning their attention the the other guards revealed revealed that two had been slain by the remaining third! It whipped it’s helmet off, “Guys! It’s me! Let’s get going!” Kihtu took off down the hall with the group following closely behind.

 

At the end of the hall came the inner sanctum, a large room with tall pillars covered in torches and rows upon rows of stone benches sloped up from the floor. In the center lay an altar with three figures surrounding it, two heavily armed Avian warriors and a Kluex priest chanting from a sacred book. Tied down to the altar lay a rather scared Hylotl.

The warriors spotted the group enter immediately and drew rather impressive swords. The priest stopped his chanting and set the book down, lifting a staff that was resting on the alter. “How dare you desecrate this sacred land of Kluex!” His voice boomed across the stone walls, “Unworthy... Herratic... Blasphemer! You shall all pay with your blood!”

The two warriors stepped forward with a strong aura of menace. Lucas, having gathered his courage made the first move.

(d12 7) He stuck the first warrior but it seemed to shrug his attack right off.

(d20 2) the warrior swung lazily expecting an easy victory against the weak opponent, however Lucas was far more nimble than it had predicted.

(d20 12) Asrie opened fire on the warrior, nailing some solid hits.

His attention focused on the first warrior, he did not notice at first the second one barreling down on him! (d20 9) He managed to dodge at the last second, taking minor damage.

(d20 13) Eili Pushed the second warrior back by unloading into it. It leaped back to join with it’s counterpart.

The priest raised his staff into the air, the gem on the end began to glow. (d20 12) Suddenly beams of energy began to rain down on the group!

(d20+ep5 22) Khitu began to spin her spear at incredible speed, a ring of energy forming around her. She lashed her spear out and the ring went flying, striking the priest! He collapsed immediately.

(d12+ep5 16) Lucas began to swing his sword about violently and blindly! The two warriors were struck multiple times, it didn’t do much damage but it certainly put them on the defensive!

(d20 18) Asrie fired off another volley striking one of the warriors multiple times, it fell to its knees!

(d20 7) Eili focused in, taking it down.

(d20 17) Kihtu lunged forward at the remaining warrior, skewering it in the chest! The battle had been won!

 

Kihtu rushed over and cut the ropes binding the Hylotl and hugged him tight, “Mikoshi! You’re okay!” “Oh wow, you actually came for me! I had convinced myself that there was no way you could have possibly been successful, that you would have realized it was foolish, but you actually did it! Oh Kihtu, I’m so grateful!” Lucas coughed interrupting the heartfelt reunion, “I’m fairly certain there are still some bad guys around, we should really get going.”

“What?” The Hylotl turned, “Oh! You’re right! Uh, and thank you as well. I wish there was some way I could repay you!” “Yeah, a way off this planet would be plenty.” Lucas snarked.

 

The group sprinted out of the temple, the sound of guards scrambling to organize themselves echoing out from deep within. They headed back into the forest.

After quite some time of running the Hylotl brought them to a stop in front of an _inconspicuous_ giant pile of branches… He scraped away a section revealing a blue hull. “This is my vessel, although I’ve wanted to leave this place for quite some time, I must admit… I have no idea how to fly it.” Lucas stepped forward with his chest out, “Luckily for you I just so happen to be a pilot!” They made their way inside.

As they got comfortable Lucas took the helm, “Ah good, no brain-frying neural-whatever!” Mikoshi let out a mumble of confusion, “Nevermind, don’t worry about it.” Lucas responded.

The ship rose into the air and took off for outer space. “Does anyone happen to have any food? I’m simply famished!” Mikoshi sighed. Asrie and Lucas turned to face Eili who was holding a canned ration, beside her a bag full of empty cans…

* * *

 


End file.
